"Sorry for being me, I don't know how to be anyone else" - Spike Milligan

Tuesday, 1 November 2011

Up for grabs

Being one of the female crew on a long-haul flight has always been seen as dazzlingly glamorous and exciting, and the new TV series Pan Am is being trailed as capturing that aura of glamour. But the reality is and was rather less rose-tinted.

Female flight attendants have had to endure sexist and abusive attitudes ever since the job was invented. That was true in the Pan Am days in the sixties and it's just as true now. Their biggest union, the ITF*, has hundreds of horror stories of cabin crew who've been molested, insulted and propositioned.

Some airlines support them and warn passengers to treat cabin crew with respect, but other airlines see the prevailing sexy image as just something passengers expect and turn a blind eye to it. Their attitude is "If you don't like it, you're in the wrong job."

Many airlines also have a strict dress code for female staff that stresses a sexy appearance. They stipulate make-up, short skirts or high heels, and sometimes even how often their hair should be trimmed or what shampoo they should use.

As they're expected to smile and simper at all times, you may not be aware of what they're having to put up with, but the behaviour of passengers is regularly outrageous. Unfortunately, unlike women workers on the ground, they don't have the option of deciding they've had enough and walking out.

I've never seen any truly appalling behaviour when I've been flying, but clearly some passengers think it's quite normal to fondle an attendant's breasts, simulate sex, or just persistently ogle her.

Airline advertising, far from discouraging such harassment, blatantly promotes it. Virgin Atlantic's parade of "red hotties" and Ryanair's pin-up calendar have been loudly complained about but the airline reaction is a wall of indifference.

And any female cabin crew approaching middle-age are liable to be nudged out of the job by the suggestion that they're too old or too plump or too stony-faced. Heaven forbid they might look too much like the life-worn travellers slumped in their planes.

So what does little Rebecca want to be when she grows up? I sincerely hope Flight Attendant is the last thing she thinks of.

27 comments:

I thought the days of glamourous flight attendants had long gone. When I flew with American Airlines a few months ago, I was quite taken aback at how old some of the flight attendants were. You know the neighbouring dog owner in There's Something About Mary? I swear she served me fruit juice.

I have seen boorish behaviour towards the cabin crew by male travelers and always felt sick. I would not recommend any young lass of my acquaintance to take to this as a career. Apart from anything else, it is tiring and dead ended.

I've mostly only travelled on package flights and the air crew are ... well, if you're lucky, polite but not smiling. And of all shapes and sizes. Not the stereotypical image that you had to comply with if you wanted to be 'an air hostess' when I was growing up. (And I didn't fit the mould definitely!) (Not that I wanted to be an air hostess.)

One of my pet peeves is denigrating a whole segment of the working population by calling out on their appearances rather than skills as evidenced by some of your commenters Nick.Grossly unfair.These flight attendants do a marvellous job (99% of them in my experience) and are not ogle material for the lechers among the passengers. You wouldn't believe the intensity of their training (first aid, languages, emergency procedures, etc.)Respect please.XOWWW

www - You're quite right, any focusing on their appearance is uncalled-for, and describing flight attendants as "old" or "ugly" is no better than describing them as "sexy" or "well-stacked". I think a couple of commenters need a ticking-off!

I don't know much about their training, but I'll take your word for it that it's more thorough than we realise.

My stepmother is a flight attendant - she's 63 and polite and friendly but I'm sure he wouldn't put up with any male passenger's crap. But the airlines that still portray women as sex objects? There's an easy answer - boycott.

About Me

I've known my partner Jenny for over 35 years. Currently working for a voluntary organisation, I was previously a journalist, bookseller and charity worker. I enjoy the company of my partner and friends but I'm not a wild socialiser. I love walking in the country and just quietly reflecting on life. Disillusioned with living in London, Jenny and I moved to Belfast in 2000. We're still in Belfast and we think it's a fabulous city.